See, Bill Analysis by the Senate Committee on Criminal Procedure, 1995-96 Regular Session. You didn’t know that you were carrying a switchblade. Penal Code 626.10(a)(1) PC makes it illegal to bring any of the following onto a public or private school instructing children in grades kindergarten to 12: Violation of Penal Code 626.10 is punishable by up to one (1) year in county jail. Penal Code 16470. Switchblade Knife PENAL CODE SECTION 21510-21590 21510. Check for updates. California Codes > California Penal Code > Part 6 > Title 3 > Division 5 > Chapter 5 > § 21510. If the switchblade was in the pocket of a jacket that you borrowed from a friend, it might be difficult for the prosecutor to prove that you knew it was there… or, that if you knew it was there, that you knew it had the characteristics of a switchblade. 1 THE PENAL CODE, 1860 (ACT NO. But just because you… or a police officer or a prosecutor… can open your knife with a wrist flick, that doesn’t automatically qualify the knife as a switchblade. 2011 California Code Penal Code PART 6. you knew it had the characteristics of a switchblade. Owners of such knives should not be subject to potential arbitrary enforcement of the overly broad language currently contained in Section 653k.”40. Current as of: 2010. To help you better understand the laws relating to possession of a switchblade, our California criminal defense lawyers will explain the following: If, after reading this article, you would like more information, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group. Questions over the scope of the proposed amendment remained, however. This might happen if the arresting officer or a prosecutor is able to open your knife one-handed with a sharp flick of his or her wrist, despite the presence of a detent. Misdemeanor penalties include up to 1-year county jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine. participation in counseling / treatment programs, and/or, that is capable of ready use as a stabbing weapon, and. [A knife carried in a sheath and worn openly suspended from the waist. Massachusetts G045929 (holding that a knife with a detent mechanism that had loosened to where it provided only 85 percent of the resistance it achieved when the knife was new, still provided enough resistance to bring it within the plain terms of the exemption, even though it could be opened with a wrist flip. The Penal Code defines the vast majority of the crimes. A criminal record can affect job, immigration, licensing and even housing opportunities. Fortunately, there are a number of potential legal defenses that can help you successfully fight California switchblade charges. A judge may be more likely to sentence you to jail time and/or a fine if (s)he finds aggravating factors that may include (but are not limited to): If you are sentenced to summary probation, the judge will impose a number of conditions. California Penal Code 21510 - possession of a switchblade; This statute prohibits carrying, selling, transporting, loaning or possessing a switchblade while in public or while in a motor vehicle. § 30510 As used in this chapter and in Sections 16780, 17000, and 27555, “assault weapon” means the following designated semiautomatic firearms: 15 USC 1243 – Manufacture, sale, or possession within specific jurisdictions; penaltyWhoever, within any Territory or possession of the United States, within Indian country (as defined in section 1151 of title 18), or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States (as defined in section 7 of title 18), manufactures, sells, or possesses any switchblade knife, shall be fined not more than $2,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. Ballistic knives are a special type of spring-loaded knife, and are covered under Penal Code 16220 and Penal Code 21110.7 Possession of a ballistic knife is punishable by up to one (1) year in county jail. Art. It proposed modifying Penal Code 653k by adding language stating that to be exempt from the definition of a switchblade, a knife must have a detent or mechanism giving the knife a “bias toward closure.”. 711, Sec. That amendment also added language exempting from the definition of switchblade knives containing a detent or other mechanism giving the knife a bias toward closure.44. [16th September 1872] Chapter I. CONTROL OF DEADLY WEAPONS [16000 - 34370] CHAPTER 5. What does it mean “knowingly” to carry a switchblade? Penal Code 20200 PC — A knife carried in a sheath that is worn openly suspended from the waist of the wearer is not concealed within the meaning of Section 16140 [air gauge knife], 16340 [cane sword], Section 17350 [writing pen knife], or 21310 [dirks and daggers]. (b) Carries the knife upon the person. 711. Penal Code 21510 PC – Every person who possesses in the passenger’s or driver’s area of any motor vehicle in any public place or place open to the public, carries upon his or her person, and every person who sells, offers for sale, exposes for sale, loans, transfers, or gives to any other person a switchblade knife having a blade two or more inches in length is guilty of a misdemeanor. Penal Code §653k [56] PART 6. (SB 1080) Effective January 1, 2011. 3. (b) Carries the knife upon the person. The Health & Safety Code addresses most crimes involving marijuana or narcotics. New York What can a defense attorney do to fight the charges? California Penal Code 21510 makes it a misdemeanor crime to carry, sell or have possession of a switchblade knife. Violation of Penal Code 21510 PC is a misdemeanor under California law, that can be punished by as much as: Often, however, California misdemeanor violations are punished by misdemeanor (summary) probation, with little or no jail time. Usually it will be easy to tell whether your knife meets the legal definition. Under California Penal Code 21510, possession of a switchblade is a misdemeanor and its penalties are up to 6 months in county jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine. See also, note 3. Penal Code - PEN. If you knew you were carrying a knife, but you didn’t know it had the characteristics of a switchblade. Spring-blade knives, snap-blade knives, gravity knives and similar knives are also illegal switchblades under Penal Code 17235 PC. Texas 6. After passage of the new law, law enforcement began finding imported knives possessed by criminals which appeared to meet the technical language of the exemption; namely switchblade knifes equipped with thumb studs which served no real purpose. The following are considered capable of ready use as a stabbing weapon that may inflict great bodily injury or death… only if the blade of the knife is exposed and locked into position: Legal defenses to carrying a concealed dirk or dagger. The definition of a switchblade under Penal Code 21510 PC is very specific. State Code: California Penal Code 17235 and Penal Code 21510 Limited – Illegal to carry openly or concealed on one's person, or in a motor vehicle stationed in a public place or place open to public unless blade is under 2 inches – Cal. Read this complete California Code, Penal Code - PEN § 21510 on Westlaw FindLaw Codes are provided courtesy of Thomson Reuters Westlaw, the industry-leading online legal research system . Under Penal Code 21510 PC, California law makes it a crime to carry, possess in public, sell or give away a switchblade.Penal Code 17235 PC defines a switchblade as a pocketknife with a blade of 2 or more inches that can be released by a flick of a button, pressure on the handle, flip of the wrist or another mechanical device.. ), Alabama Effective January 1, 2012, Penal Code 16965, 17235, and 21510 replaced, without substantive change, former Penal Code 635k. Over time the definitions of “switchblade knife” were expanded, to the point where it was arguably a crime for law-abiding citizens to carry knives for legitimate purposes. It's always illegal. 2010, Ch. Even though Jane never had any intention of using the knife as a weapon, she gets charged with the crime of possession of a switchblade. Code, § 21510) - Free Legal Information - … (c) Sells, offers for sale, exposes for sale, loans, transfers, or gives the knife to any other person. These might include. CA Penal Code § 25100 (2017) (a) Except as provided in Section 25105, a person commits the crime of “criminal storage of a firearm in the first degree” if all of the following conditions are satisfied: (1) The person keeps any loaded firearm within any premises that are under the … undetectable knives [made from materials that can’t be detected by metal detectors]. Penal Code - PEN. Because of how easily they can be concealed, switchblade knives are considered... 2. Penal Code sections 21510 and 17235 replaced Penal Code section 653k in prohibiting and describing a switchblade knife. Also, Penal Code section 21310 prohibits a carrying a concealed dirk or dagger. We have local offices in Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, Pasadena, Long Beach, Orange County, Ventura, San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Diego, Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose and throughout California. Penalties for mailing a switchblade or ballistic knife include: California and federal laws making it a crime to carry a concealed switchblade were first enacted in 1957 and 1958, respectively. imprisonment of not more than one (1) year. Illinois Effective January 1, 2012, Penal Code 16965, 17235, and 21510 replaced, without substantive change, former Penal Code 653k. you have only one arm and the blade is three inches or less in length. This Act shall be called the Penal Code. Operative January 1, 2012, by Sec. Switchblade Knife Section 21510 Justia - California Criminal Jury Instructions (CALCRIM) (2020) 2502. Consider the results of a PC 25400 conviction and focus on defenses for this criminal charge. Alaska Art. Under Penal Code 17235, “switchblade knife” does not include any knife that opens with one hand utilizing either: provided that the knife has a detent or other mechanism that: A detent is a device — such as a catch, dog, or spring-operated ball — for positioning and holding one mechanical part in relation to another, in a manner such that the device can be released by force applied to one of the parts.8. What is the punishment if a person is convicted? other folding knives that don’t meet the definition of a switchblade. A switchblade is sometimes referred to as an automatic knife, pushbutton knife, ejector knife, switch knife, Sprenger or Springer knife, or flick knife. As long as the knife has a working thumb stud or other mechanisms which makes it resistant to being opened, it is not legally a switchblade under California law16. SB 274 was signed into law by then-Governor Gray Davis signed in 2001. 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